Date: 7-1-07

Subject: Yahoo.com privacy policy

URL: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/details.html

Quote: This policy covers how Yahoo! treats personal information that Yahoo! collects and receives, including information related to your past use of Yahoo! products and services. Personal information is information about you that is personally identifiable like your name, address, email address, or phone number, and that is not otherwise publicly available.

In addition, some companies that Yahoo! has acquired have their own, preexisting privacy policies which may be viewed on our acquired companies page.

Analysis: Here we go again. Just like with Yahoo's Terms of Service agreement, you are expected to read the EULAs of at least six (6) other companies before you know what you're *really* agreeing to. And, even then, do you really know?

Quote: Yahoo! may combine information about you that we have with information we obtain from business partners or other companies.

Analysis: We're building a massive database of personal information. Don't you hope that it's safe?

Quote: Yahoo! automatically receives and records information on our server logs from your browser, including your IP address, Yahoo! cookie information, and the page you request.

Yahoo! uses information for the following general purposes: to customize the advertising and content you see, fulfill your requests for products and services, improve our services, contact you, conduct research, and provide anonymous reporting for internal and external clients.

Analysis: We know who you are and what you are doing, and will keep that information forever.

Quote: When a child under age 13 attempts to register with Yahoo!, we ask the child to have a parent or guardian create a Yahoo! Family Account to obtain parental permission.

Analysis: And, of course, kids on the Internet never lie about their age.

Quote: Information Sharing and Disclosure

Yahoo! does not rent, sell, or share personal information about you with other people or non-affiliated companies except to provide products or services you've requested, when we have your permission, or under the following circumstances:

We provide the information to trusted partners who work on behalf of or with Yahoo! under confidentiality agreements. These companies may use your personal information to help Yahoo! communicate with you about offers from Yahoo! and our marketing partners. However, these companies do not have any independent right to share this information.

We respond to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process, or to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims.

We believe it is necessary to share information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of Yahoo!'s terms of use, or as otherwise required by law.

Analysis: We will give your information to anyone we please.

Quote: Your Ability to Edit and Delete Your Account Information and Preferences

You can delete your Yahoo! account by visiting our Account Deletion page. Please click here to read about information that might possibly remain in our archived records after your account has been deleted.

(from the above-mentioned “please click here” page)
If you ask Yahoo! to delete your Yahoo! account, in most cases your account will be deactivated and then deleted from our user registration database in approximately 90 days. This delay is necessary to discourage users from engaging in fraudulent activity.
Please note that any information that we have copied may remain in back-up storage for some period of time after your deletion request. This may be the case even though no information about your account remains in our active user databases.

Servers

* The Yahoo! computers (called "servers") that send your web pages and advertising banners process and store an enormous amount of information every day. These computer records are called “log files”

* Log files are used for analysis, research, auditing, and other purposes, as described above. After this information has been used, it is stored and is inaccessible. Until the information is stored, your Yahoo! ID may remain in our active server log files.

Analysis: We will keep your information forever.

Quote: Confidentiality and Security. To learn more about security, including the security steps we have taken and security steps you can take, please read Security at Yahoo!.

Analysis: OK, sounds great. However, when you click on “read Security at Yahoo,” it takes you back to the same page from which you started!!!!!!! BOGUS!

Yeah, it's cheesy to include Google ads on this website, but, hey, we figure that as much as we rag on Google, they should pay us for the privilege. Hmmm, there's some interesting logic for you!

If you know of a EULA that should be inducted into the EULA Hall of Shame, PLEASE EMAIL US at the address found below. If you submit a EULA for inclusion, YOU MUST INCLUDE (1) the name of the company originating the EULA, (2) the name of the program, website or other device that incorporates the EULA, (3) a link to a website owned by the EULA originator that displays the EULA, OR the ORIGINAL FACTORY OEM floppy disc, CD, DVD or printed-on-paper document that contains the EULA. We only deal with original factory OEM products -- WE WILL NOT ACCEPT COPIES. If necessary, we will provide you with a land-location mailing address, and, when we are through with our analysis, your materials will be returned, AND, (4) your reasons why you dislike the EULA.
EMAILS THAT DO NOT CONFORM TO THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE IGNORED.

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If you feel that information found on this website has somehow wronged you or your company, please email us at the address found above. We take all such communications very seriously. Be advised, however, that nasty, threatening or otherwise abusive emails will be forwarded to our team of pitbull attorneys, who would love nothing more than to take a EULA lawsuit all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. You read eourd EULA, didn't you?
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The contents of this website are Copyright 2007 and following years by Dave Moore and the EULA Hall of Shame. This website is provided for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide legal advice of any kind. Materials found on this website which are not the property of Dave Moore and the EULA Hall of Shame are the property of their respective owners, and are used and reproduced pursuant to the Fair Use and other applicable laws of the United States of America. See fairuse.stanford.edu for more information. This website went online May 19, 2007. Also, thanks to Chris Hansen for the cool font!